The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee addressed an assembly of newspersons at Calcutta Press Club today (January 18, 2013) on the occasion of completion of 90 years of Indian Journalists’ Association and told them to ensure that in their reporting comments are free but facts are sacred. He also unveiled memorials depicting Hicky’s Bengal Gazette (first newspaper in India) and Sangbad Prabhakar (first Bengali daily newspaper).

Describing the relationship between politicians and journalists as fish and water, the President said that he has enjoyed interaction with the media throughout his public life. He lauded the glorious role played by journalists in India’s freedom struggle. He called upon journalists to continue to uphold their glorious traditions keeping certain fundamentals in mind such as the need for reporting to be truthful and credible.

This release issued at 1930 hrs